International Victimology Institute Tilburg

INTERVICT promotes and executes interdisciplinary research that can contribute to a comprehensive, evidence-based body of knowledge on the empowerment and support of victims of crime and abuse of power.

Undocumented people speak for themselves during policy seminar on protection of their rights

A double move involving the strengthening of undocumented people’s leadership and the widening of inclusive spaces in which people can learn, work and access services independent of their immigration status is necessary for undocumented people to be able to realize their rights.

This was
one of the conclusions of the policy seminar on “Towards better protection of
undocumented people in the area of work and health” that took place at the
International Institute for Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague on the afternoon
of 1 November 2017. Organized by researchers from Tilburg University jointly
with ISS faculty, the seminar enabled a constructive dialogue between people
who do not often meet: undocumented people themselves, migrant support
organizations, trade unionists, but also representatives of Dutch municipalities
and government ministries.

In her
introductory input, ISS researcher Karin Astrid Siegmann highlighted that undocumented
people’s fear of identification, fines and discriminatory treatment presents a key
obstacle to their effective access to healthcare. Information about health
rights through trusted social networks can offer an effective antidote to these
fears. Her presentation was based on a participatory study with Helen Hintjens and Richard Staring on the access of irregular migrants
to healthcare in the Netherlands. Using the PEER methodology, undocumented
women and men themselves acted as researchers in the study.

On the
terrain of labour and human rights, access to effective protection remains
difficult to realize for undocumented migrants, as shown by Lisa Berntsen, postdoctoral researcher and
lecturer at INTERVICT, Tilburg University. The vulnerability of undocumented
people is multidimensional: vulnerability in the domain of work is related to
other spheres, such as health, housing, knowledge of and access to social
support and protection mechanisms. Berntsen’s presentation was
based on the casefile research into illegal employment at the Dutch labour
inspectorate combined with an empirical interview study surveying 123
undocumented migrants in the city of Amsterdam. The study is part of the ‘Protection of labour migrants in the
Netherlands’ research project, funded by Institute Gak and run by prof. Conny Rijken, dr. Tesseltje de Lange and dr. Lisa Berntsen. The feasibility
of different policy scenarios, varying from improving effective access to
existing rights, extending spaces for inclusive participation, and creating a legal
right to work and remain, were discussed. The distribution of cards listing the
health and labour rights of the undocumented (similar to the card on the safe
reporting of crimes), creating inclusive activities related to language
education and skills development, as well as possibilities for legalisation
like the Geneva system, were put forward as concrete ideas to strengthen the
position of undocumented people. Based on the constructive dialogue with the
participants from various levels of government and civil society, the
researchers will draft a policy brief with the recommendations to improve the
position of undocumented migrants in the Netherlands.

Referring
to the suggestion to learn from the experience of US cities of sanctuary to
create more welcoming places in Europe, Tesseltje de Lange concluded the
dialogue with the observation that: “It is appropriate to discuss undocumented
people’s rights at ISS as the institute is a little sanctuary in itself.”